German 16th Army

The German 16th Army was a field army of the German Wehrmacht that was active from 22 October 1939 to 8 May 1945 during World War II. While under the command of Ernst Busch, the army fought in the Battle of France and Operation Barbarossa, serving as a part of Army Group North in the latter invasion. In January 1942, it was encircled by the Soviet Red Army near Demyansk, and it broke out in April 1942. The army participated in the Siege of Leningrad until 1944, and it was greatly diminished during a series of Soviet attacks near Kholm in February 1944. During the Soviet summer and autumn offensives of 1944, the 16th Army and the German 18th Army were trapped in the Courland Pocket, where they came to constitute "Army Group North". On 8 May 1945, the army surrendered to the Soviets.